Tire.



me. I APPLICATIQN FILED SEPTJO; 19l3- Patented May 4, 1915.

W/TNZ'SSES I Q9.

ATTORNEY STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. RABBITT, OF YOKOHAMA, JAPAN,

TIRE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES citizen of the United States residing atYokohama, inthe Empire of- Japan,- have invented certain new and. usefulImprovements in Tires, of which the following is a' specification.

This invention relates 'to inflatable tires of the type now commonlyemployed "on the wheels of vehicles and particularly selfpropelledvehicles.

, The invention is directed to the provision of a tire of an improvedconstruction, the improvements being of special-,value in reduclng thework incident to repairing the tire. after a puncture and in reducing.the weight of the spare parts to be carried by eliminating thenecessity of carrying spare wheels and other parts of relatively greatweight and bulk.

The invention lnvolves the provision of a tire consisting of a shoe anda plurality of disconnected inflatable inner-tube sections within theshoe, in combination with a rim I on which the tire is mounted and whichis provided with a plurality of openings therein through which theinner-tube sections may be Y passed" to insert them in the shoe; Theinner-- tube sections are in the '30 form of expansible bulbs of anysuitable ,shape' and are arranged to be inflated with air-so as tosupport the tread of the shoe resiliently. Suitable connections aremadeto these bulbs to permit of inflating 3 them and preferably theseconnections all lead to a tube extending around the rim so that all' oftheinner-tube sections may be simultaneously inflated through one valveconnection to the tube.

inflated it extends around the rim a distance' equal to the distancebetween the spokes andone opening for the insertion of an inner-tubesection is provided in therun between each pair of adjacent spokes; A adetachable closure is provided for each of these openings, this closurebeing so shaped that it will properly support the portion oftheinner-tube section which directly overlies it.

With a tire constructed as contemplated bythe invention, a puncturewillr'esultun injury to and deflation of but one of the inner-tube sections,for even when all of the inner-tube sectlons are connected forsimultaneous inflation, suitable check; valv s w ll Specification ofLetters'latent.

A. RABBITT, a

Preferably each o inner-tube section is of such size that when 1responding Patented May 4, 1915.

Application filed September 20, 19 13. Serial No. 790,923.

tional inner-tube sections need be carried for the repair of allpunctures of ordinary size. Furthermore, the repair of a punctured tiredoes not nvolve removal of the shoe to make the repair and applicationthereof to the rim after the repair has been made which operations areboth difficult and time consuming.

I have illustrated the preferred embodiment 'of my invention in theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a tireconstructed 1n. accordance with the invention, this being broken away in'part to show the in terior construction, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionthrough one of the detachable closures, Fig.

-3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, the section being at a point beyond theend of the closure, and Fig. 4 isa View of the inner side of the rimshowing one closure in position and the opening for a second closure,the latter being removed.

Referring to these drawings, 5 indicates a shoe of any suitableconstruction, this being shown as provided with flanges at its edgeswhich interlock with flanges 6 of a metallic rim 7 in the usual manner.Within the shoe 5 is, an inner-tube consisting of a plurality ofseparate or disconnected innertube sections 8. These inner-tube sectionsor members may be of any suitable form, but

preferably they are so formed as to be pointed at one end and to have apointed depression at the opposite end so that the several sections willinterlock one with an other as indicated in Fig. 1 and so that theseveral sections may be conveniently folded when deflated for insertionthrgugh the openings of the rim as hereinafter set forth. The inner-tubesections are of a length corto the distance .between the spokes 9 of thewheel and the center of each .section 8 lies opposite the center of thespace between a pair of adjacent spokes as shown. The-felly or rim ofthe wheel 1ncludes,,1n addition to the metallic rim 7, a wooden rim 10and this wooden rim is preferably providedwith a casing 11 of sheetmetal having its edges turned inwardly under the metallic rim. 7as'shown at'12. This metallic casing 11 is desirable in furtherstrengthening the structure because of the openings which are providedthrough the 1'13 for the passage. of the inner-tube sections Betweeneach pair of adjacent 9 an opening is provided through the entire rim,that is, through the parts 11, 1 and 7. These openings are of a sizesuflicient to permit the insertion of the innertube sections throughthem .when such sections aredefiated and folded. When the inner-tubesections have been. positioned within the shoe,

the several openings are closed by means of them -from working loose.

closures13 consisting of an exterior plate 14 and a plug secured theretoand adapted to fitsnugly in the opening in the rim. The o the plates 14are slotted to receive screws 15 on whichare wing nuts 16. 'Whena=.closure has been positioned in its opening the wing nuts 16 may betightened up upon the screws 15 so as to hold the closure rigidly inposition and if desired lock nuts may be screwed down upon the wing n toprevent l. referably' a gasket 17 is provided between the inner face ofthe plate 14 and the casing ll'to prevent dirt from working into theinterior of the tire through the openings in the rim.

Each of the inner-tube sections'or members 8 has a tube connection 18 bywhich air may be pumped into the section. If desired the severalinner-tube sections may be separately inflated in which case each tubeconnection 18 would be provided with a check valve 19 to prevent leakageof the air from the section. I prefer, however, to so connect the tubes18 of all of the sections 8 as to permit of inflating all of theinner-tube sections with the flanges 6, audit? in-thia ositionthroughout its period of usefulnesf the tire-becomes punctured, suchuncture' will not result in deflation of the w 1e tire but only of thatinner-tube section which hi! become injured for the air in the other.sections will not flow 28 from the uninjured sections ;by reason of thecheck valves 19 inthe connections lea through the opening to theinterior of the injured section is withdrawn, thus rovldw shoe and itstubular connection 18"is connected to the extension 20 of tube 22b]means of the coupling 19. This ha been done, the plug 13 is restored toits initial position and the newly inserted section -8 is inflated bypumping air intothe tube 22."

Having described myinvention, what I claim as new therein and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United Statesisf This tube 22 has aurality of short tubular members 20 extending therefrom through the wallof the rim and into the openings for the closures 13. In this case themembers 19 on the ends of the tubular connections 18 of the sections 8arecombined check valves and detachable couplings so that any innertubesection 8 may be readily connected to and disconnected from thecorresponding branch 20 of the tube 22. A valve 21 is provided upori thetube for the. connection. of a pumpthereto-in the usual manner.. Theinner faces of the plugs13 are preferably provided with depressions inwhich the tubular connections 18 of the sections 8 lie when thosesections are in position within the shoe. Such a depression is shown inFig. 2- I 'ri With the parts thus constructed, the shoe 5 mounted uponthe rim 7 and interlocked and detachable closures for s 1.Thecombination of a tire, consisting of.

a, shoe, and a plurality of disconnectedbinv 9 flatable inner tubesections therein, and a rim on which the tire is mounted, comprising ametallic member to which the shoe in secured, a wooden member extendingcircumferentially-on the inner side of the-me tallic member, and ametallic casing for thp wooden member, secured at its edges to themetallic member, said rim having a plurality of openings through thevarious palitll thereof, through which said sections'may 'be passed, anddetachable closures for openings, each said closure having a depreasiononits inner face and a connection for each section for inflating thesame extending through said depression and laterally through the woodenmember-and metallic casing of the rim, substantially as set forth. 2.The combination of tire consistingof a. shoe, a plurality of inner-tubesectionstherein and connections to the sections for inflating them, anda rimcomprising a metallic member to which the shoe is secured. and areinforcing member extending circumferentially on the inner 's. e of themetallic member, said rim having a plurality of inw'ardlyjdirectedopenings .herethrough, r be passed,

through which said sectiens m aid openings, each consisting of a bodyportion adapted to fit within one of said. openings and a plate having adepression on its inner faceto receive one oi said connectlons, thelatter adapted to lie against and besecured to the inner side of therim, each said body portion extending laterally through the reinforcingmember of the rim, and check valves on the connections,substantially asset forth.

. 3. The combination of a rim having a 'plurality of inwardly directedopenings therein, a shoe on the rim, a plurality of disconnect: ed,inflatable members in the shoe, each of which may be passed throughone'of said openings when deflated, a, tube secured to one side of saidrim, detachable closures for plurality of inwardly directed openingstherein, a shoe on the rim, a plurality of disconnected, inflatablemembers in the shoe,

each of which maybe passed through one of said openings when deflated, atube secured to one side of said rim, detachable closures adapted to fitwithin said openings and to be secured to the rim with their inner facesin position to support the inflatable members, said closures havingdepres-. sions in their inner faces, and detachable connections betweensaid members and said tube, lying in. said depressions and extending'laterally through said rim, and valves in said connections,substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 25th day of August, 1913.

